ShoeGuy: Light Does Not Make Right

ShoeGuy Weighs in on a Massive Myth

Fitting a runner into new shoes sometimes means convincing them to NOT get new shoes. After all, if the idea of shoes are to keep the runner running, getting new ones should help, not hinder. Lofty goals, however, sometimes get in the way.

A runner I’ll call Phil came to me several years ago in search of shoes that would deliver a PR in his race of choice, the 10K. If only we had such a shoe. That, and a shoe to cure plantar fasciitis, and I could retire.

While the 10K was Phil’s favorite race, it was also his nemesis. With dozens of 6.2-milers under his belt, he just couldn’t break 50 minutes. He consistently ran 52 or 53, and on a good day the occasional 51, but a sub-50 had proven to be much more than just seconds beyond his reach.

The answer in Phil’s mind, of course, was racing flats. By knocking a few ounces off his shoes, surely he could run fast enough to finish easily in those magical 40s for his next 10K. Right?

Wrong. Running shoes do more than just add weight to your feet. While you run, they are at work. How much they support and protect you compromises any supposed mathematical relationship between shoe weight and runner speed.

It took a while, but finally I convinced Phil that at his size and at his pace, racing flats would actually slow him down. Yeah, you might feel frisky at the starting line, I told him, but by mile one, your race would be over. If you want to run in the high 60s, buy these racing flats.

Okay, so I missed a sale. But if the success of your customers defines your success as a ShoeGuy, I eventually won out. After a modest program of speedwork and paying more attention to his diet, Phil eventually ran that sub-50 comfortably in his training shoes. He would remember where to buy his next pair.

Light, when it comes to running shoes, does not always make right. Racing flats are all about speed, with little concern for support and protection. While they have their place on some feet, most of us do better without them. My rule of toe is: if you’re a contender to win the race, or at least to place in your competitive age group, flats will probably help. Otherwise, the lack of protection and attendant pain will slow you down.

Okay, so you’re one of those guys who not only races in flats, but also trains in them? Before you dash off a sanctimonious note to the editor, I’m not talking about you. Yep, there are a relative handful in every running club who can wear any shoe and stay fast and injury-free. These human gazelles are typically fairly lightweight, biomechanically efficient, and so lean their legs look like an anatomy chart.

Shoe weight concerns often extend beyond racing flats. While it’s good that shoe product managers consider weight when building the next midsole miracle, sometimes they go anorexic on us. Just as with people, too much weight loss can be a bad thing.

There was, for example, the shoe that set the industry standard in motion-control. Then one day, along comes a product guy with the prototype of a new version that looked like it had termites.

Shoe Guy: "What happened? You took the guts out of the shoe!" (I always speak with exclamation points when I’m passionate about a topic.)

Product Guy:"Well, we wanted to reduce the weight . . ."

"Why? Who’s complaining about weight with this shoe?"

"Well, no one, but we thought it would be good if we could do it."

"How have other ShoeGuys responded to this?" (I trust the opinions of my comrades-in-lacing more than shoe product guys.)

"They’ve pretty much said the same thing as you."

Happy ending to this one. The next round of samples of this hallowed trainer had regained its former weight and its massive support. It is today enjoying great success in the marketplace.

Another product meeting, another time, different shoe company, different product manager, same Shoe Guy, and we’re discussing the same silly weight issue. This time it’s a very basic, albeit very popular, neutral trainer that doesn’t weigh much to begin with.

ShoeGuy:"So, why did you cut out this space in the heel?"

Product Guy: "To reduce weight."

"Who’s complaining about weight with this shoe?" (Seems like my favorite question, I know.)

"Well, no one, but we always like to reduce weight when we can."

"So, you’re fixing something that’s not broken?"

No response, just a very practiced go-to-hell look. I know it well.

While that particular trainer has yet to land in the marketplace, I’m confident its fit, feel, and function will be consistent with its heritage, sliced up heel area or not. Sometimes rude sarcasm works.

So let the fast runners and product guys in search of a place to hang their hats eat, drink, sleep, and obsess over shoe weights. Along with color (which is another topic—don’t get me started), it’s probably the last thing you should consider when buying new shoes.

Remember our friend Phil who, while physically fit, had the biomechanics of an elephant, and had enjoyed his share of cheeseburgers over the years. He may have been born to run, but not to race, and not to wear lightweight shoes.

Which is better than those of us who were born to lace and hurl verbal darts. But then we all have our calling.